GDHQNHL15_2pg-Detroit Red Wings 2

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One of the players that did
excel on both ends of the ice,
and will be counted on to do it
again, was Kronwall. Playing
most of his career in the shadow
of future Hall-of-Famer Nicklas
Lidstrom, Kronwall has come
into his own over the last few
years and established himself
as a team leader.
Following along with the theme
of the year, Jonathan Ericsson had
his season end in March when his
left middle finger was shattered by a puck in a game against the Toronto
Maple Leafs. Although he continues to get treatment on the injury
seven months later, Ericsson will be counted on to anchor the team’s top
defensive pairing alongside Kronwall.
Danny DeKeyser has been a pleasant surprise for the Red Wings.
He came to the team as an undrafted free agent but finished last season
second on the team in ice time per game. He was rewarded for his play
with a two-year, $4.3 million contract. DeKeyser will generally find
himself as a part of the second defensive pairing with Brendan Smith.
Outside of those four, Kyle Quincey should see minutes in the third
pairing. He was one of only two Red Wings to play in all 82 games last
season. His linemate is far less clear. Brian Lashoff and Jakub Kindl are
back but both struggled in the defensive zone and players like Xavier
Ouellet, Ryan Sproul and Alexey Marchenko, who all saw some playing
time last season, will be competing for ice time.
Goaltending
The Red Wings feel comfortable with veteran Jimmy Howard inside
the crease. Howard is coming off of a down year but some of his struggles
can be attributed to the constant shuffling of the players in front of him
and, unsurprisingly, a string of injuries and illnesses that cost him time
in both the regular season and playoffs. The 2.66 GAA and .910 save
percentage he posted were well below his career numbers and far worse
than the 2.13 and .923 he put up in 2012-13.
Howard has recovered from the hand, knee and hip injuries that
slowed him last season and should return to form.
The team’s backup, Jonas Gustavsson, also returns after a season
where he started 27 games. He did not fare much better in net with a
2.63 GAA and .907 save percentage but the Red Wings did manage to
go 16-5-4 in his starts. The team hopes to see a lot less of the Swede in
net this season.
Power-Play
Although injuries clearly limited the Red Wings’ power play,
struggling with the man advantage is nothing new in Detroit. Their 17.7
percent success rate, which ranked 18th in the league, was not much
worse than the 18.4 they finished with in 2012-13 and a bit better than
the 16.1 from the season before.
Instead of units one and two, the Red Wings may refer to their
power-play units as young and old. When healthy, Datsyuk, Zetterberk
and Fransen form an impressive unit but they rarely got the chance to
play together last season. Despite their extensive missed time, and when
you include Kronwall and DeKeyser, they accounted for 22 of the team’s
50 power-play goals.
The second unit could see the youngsters Sheahan, Tatar and Nyquist
paired together. They all gained valuable experience when they saw time
on the power-play last season and combined for 10 goals of their own.
Penalty Kill
The Red Wings’ penalty kill fared a bit better than their powerplay.
They killed off 83.1 percent of their opponents’ power plays and
that ranked 12th in the league but their inexperience showed in the
number of penalties they committed. The Red Wings were short handed
296 times, fourth
most in the league.
Darren Helm has
speed to burn and
he put it to good use
on the penalty kill
where he can always
recover position and
helps keep teams
honest because he is
a threat to turn any
misplay into a shorthanded
opportunity..
Fellow center
Luke Glendening put in hard minutes on the penalty kill as a rookie and
that effort should help assure him a spot on this year’s roster. DeKeyser
was also key to killing penalties and it will be another factor in him
turning his two-year deal into an extended stay with the club.
Prediction
After squeezing into the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, the
Red Wings are hoping things will break better for them this season.
They have some young talent but the team is still relying on their
veteran players to carry them.
It’s no surprise when older players get injured, but if they can
manage to stay healthy Detroit could see themselves push into
the second round.
Scoreboard
2013-14 2012-13 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10
PLAYOFF FINISH Conf QF Conf SF Conf QF Conf SF Conf SF
REGULAR SEASON 39-28-15 24-16-8 48-28-6 47-25-10 44-24-14
POINT TOTAL 93 56 102 104 102
SHOOTOUT RECORD 5-9 2-5 9-3 4-4 6-9
GOALS SCORED 222 124 248 261 229
GOALS ALLOWED 230 115 203 241 216
POWER-PLAY % 17.7 18.4 16.1 22.3 19.2
PENALTY KILL % 83.1 81.7 81.8 82.3 83.9
Pavel Datsyuk
Dave Reginek/NHL/Getty Images